Matisa, 24, was booted from the show Wednesday night after failing to impress judges with a pair of pin-up tattoos they thought were too small. In his online exit interview, Matisa complained that when he was doing the work there were no complaints from judges about the size of the tattoos. The pair depicted a curvy nude woman with a cloth covering her as she sat on a jukebox and a second of the jukebox alone.

In answer to fans who swamped his Twitter page with complaints about his elimination in the show’s ninth episode, Matisa shared their disappointment, thanking them for their support and admitting, “I’m just as upset. Be sure to tell ‘Best Ink’ how you’re feeling.”

An online poll posted on the Oxygen network’s website for the show revealed that more than 82 percent of viewers who voted disagreed with the decision to eliminate Matisa, who was considered a frontrunner among 14 contestants on the show that’s been airing since Dec. 4. It was filmed in Los Angeles last summer, with Matisa sworn to secrecy about the outcome.

In her blog about the decision, judge Sabrina Kelley said she thought it was right to keep Lara Slater of Pine Hill, N.J., a less popular contestant, over Matisa because “he was slowly going downhill. I do feel that Joe’s cockiness got in the way of his work. He was a little too big for his britches.”

Matisa’s answer to Kelley’s assessment: “I’m not really cocky. I’m just always amped to do something, so I always want to hype myself up on a project and make myself and the client feel like I’ll work 110 percent.”

Since appearing on the show, business has been brisk at Matisa’s two tattoo studios — Kiss of Ink (Il Bacio) at 515 Hamilton Ave. in Chambersburg, and Ink Junction in Flemington. Clients who want a tattoo from Matisa now have to make an appointment, often weeks in advance.

Since the show was filmed, Matisa has been renovating his house in Trenton, improving his shops and toying with the idea of sculpting a Batman mask. He recently participated in the Philadelphia Tattoo Arts Convention.

Had he won, Matisa said in an earlier interview, he would have done the same thing.